A GUIDE for USING
southern TRAINs
For people with a disability
Easy read version – 2011
If you need help or information
please contact us
By phone
0800 138 1016 for Southern Assisted Travel
08451 27 29 20 for Southern Customer Services
By minicom/textphone
0800 138 1018
By email
[email protected]
for Southern Assisted Travel
[email protected]
for Southern Customer Services
Or visit our website
www.southernrailway.com
Or send us a letter
Southern Customer Services, PO Box 3021, Bristol BS2 2BS
Or contact National Rail Enquiries
08457 48 49 50 or website www.nationalrail.co.uk
Welcome to Southern Railway
This booklet is to help passengers with a disability use
our services.
If the information you want is not in this booklet,
please use the contact information above.
The booklet includes all Southern and
Gatwick Express services.
CONTENTS
3
Help with assisted travel –
Booked assistance
5
Help with assisted travel –
Unbooked assistance
6
Accessibility
9
Priority seats
10
Repairs to the track
or station
11
Health and safety
12
Tickets and discounts
15
Luggage
15
Waiting areas
16
Parking at the station
17
Help Points
18
Signs and information
19
Getting food at the station
and on the train
20
Is there anything you want
to say about your journey?
21
Accessibility manager
Help with assisted travel –
Booked assistance
When should I ask for help?
If you want to book ‘help’ try to ring us at least one
day before you travel. Please see first page for contact
details.
If I have booked help, where do I go when I get to
the station?
You must let a member of station staff know you have
booked help.
What kind of help can I get?
Our staff are trained to help people with disabilities.
On the phone they can:
• Help find the nearest station without steps or with
ramps or lifts.
• Help arrange assistance in advance of travel.
• Arrange help when travelling.
• Offer timetables and travel information.
3
At the station they can:
• Meet you at an agreed point when you get to the station.
• Help you to buy a ticket and other things for your journey.
• Show you where to go at the station.
• Help you to get on the train and to find a seat.
• Help you with stairs and ramps.
• Help you to change trains during the journey.
• Carry light luggage.
• Tell you where to find your nearest station without steps or one which
has a lift.
• Arrange another kind of transport for you if you can’t use steps.
• Let the other stations know you are coming so that someone can help you.
Station staff will help you if you have booked assistance.
Staff may not be able to wait with you until the train comes but they will take
you somewhere you can wait and come back when the train arrives.
Sometimes there are other people who need help but the staff will get to you
as soon as possible.
You should not have to wait longer than 5 minutes for the help if you
have booked.
If travel arrangements are changed, we will tell you and make sure help
is rearranged.
The National Rail website has a map of each station
with some pictures. You can see the station and
facilities before you arrive. This is called stations made
easy. Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk to find this.
4
Help with assisted travel –
Unbooked assistance
What happens if I can’t book help?
If you can’t let us know before you travel, you must tell
a member of staff at the station that you need help.
If they can’t help at that station, they will arrange
for you to go to a station where they can help you.
If there is not a member of staff at the station, you can
phone us on 0800 138 1016 or use the help point at the
station and we will send help.
When should I arrive at the station?
Whether you have booked help or not, get to the
station at least 20 minutes before the train is due.
Go to the platform ready for the train 5 minutes
before it leaves.
5
Accessibility
You can get all the information about the accessibility
of the stations and trains by phoning: 0800 138 1016
(freephone) or textphone/minicom 0800 138 1018.
Travelling with a wheelchair or scooter
• You can take your wheelchair and some
scooters on the train but there are weight
and size restrictions.
• Wheelchairs and scooters must not be more
than 700mm wide and 1200mm long.
They must not weigh more than 300kg.
• If the wheelchair or scooter is too heavy
or too large, station staff may not let you
on the train. Check before you travel.
• There is a gap between the platform and the train.
A ramp is used to go across the gap. You must
not use the ramp on your own.
• You must be able to steer the mobility scooter
up the short steep ramp, as we cannot do this
for you.
• The speed limit at all stations is 3 miles per hour.
• Some stations have their own wheelchairs and
staff can help you get from the station to the
train. Check before you travel.
• Station wheelchairs can only be used at the
station and not for the rest of your journey.
6
Station and train accessibility
Ticket machines are low so wheelchair users
can use them. Many ticket desks are also low.
If there are any changes to the stations, like the lift
being out of order, we will let you know:
• by putting up a poster at the station.
• by adding information on the website.
• by advising when you phone us for help for
your journey.
All ticket barriers have a wide gate that is left open
when the ticket barrier is unstaffed.
All ticket offices have
hearing loops. Many also
have lower counters
to help people using
wheelchairs.
7
Many stations have toilets.
Some stations have accessible toilets.
We plan to put them on more of our stations.
Some accessible toilets are locked. You can use
RADAR (key scheme) for some but must ask
station staff to open others.
If you can’t use the steps at a station, we will arrange other transport to
a station without steps. You must talk to us about this before you travel
and have a ticket to travel.
Sometimes we are doing repairs at the station but staff will help you if you
have booked. Transport to the nearest accessible station will be provided.
Onboard trains
Most trains have good access for people with
disabilities e.g.
• Double sliding doors.
• Wide aisles.
• Announcements on a screen about stations
on the journey.
Dogs who help you are welcome
on the trains.
Mobility scooters cannot be accepted
onto our class 442 trains (pictured)
unless they fold down.
8
Priority seats
Priority seats are for people with additional needs
who need to sit down.
They are clearly marked in each carriage.
They are usually near the exit doors.
Can I book (reserve) a seat on the train?
You can’t book a seat on a Southern train.
Places are provided for you if you use a wheelchair
or a mobility scooter. There is a picture of a wheelchair
user on the outside of the train to show where these
places are.
If part of your journey includes a train run by another
train company and they book seats on their trains,
we can do this for you.
Staff will help you find a seat on the train but cannot
make a non-disabled person give their seat up for you
should they refuse to.
9
Repairs to the track or station
During repairs to the rail track we sometimes
use a bus in place of the train for part of the
journey (usually this is at the weekend or
Bank Holidays).
Most of the buses we provide are accessible.
If you can’t use the bus because it doesn’t
accept wheelchairs, we will arrange for you
to travel on a different route or transport.
If you have to cancel your journey because of
repairs to the track, we will give you your money back.
You can find out if repair work is planned for your journey by phoning
Customer Services or from posters at the station or by visiting our website
www.southernrailway.com or www.nationalrail.co.uk or ask staff.
10
Health and safety
All Southern Railway staff have been trained
to help people with disabilities.
Some staff have special training to help people
with disabilities to use the ramps.
Wheelchairs are brought off the train backwards,
for the safety of you and other people.
Don’t put heavy bags on the back of wheelchairs
and scooters because they can tip you backwards
on the ramp. Staff will help you to carry light bags.
Staff cannot help you with personal care during
or after your journey e.g. toilet, eating or medication.
There are CCTV (cameras) on the station platforms
and on the trains.
If you have to leave the train between stations
because of an emergency, staff or the emergency
services will help you.
Lost property
Phone Customer Services (see first page for details).
Bullying
If you feel threatened on the train or at the station:
• Tell a member of staff.
• Phone British Transport Police on 0800 405040
to report a crime.
11
Tickets and discounts
(cheaper travel)
Buying a ticket
If you buy a ticket from a ticket office or on-line
at least 2 days before you travel, it can be cheaper.
You can buy a ticket:
• On the internet with a debit or credit card.
• At a station.
• From a self-service ticket machine at the station.
If you buy a ticket on the website, you can get money off with a valid railcard.
You put your name and address on the website and we post the tickets or you
can pick them up from the station.
You should buy a ticket before you get on the train.
Some people with disabilities may not be able to use
the machines or the ticket office.
The staff checking the tickets on the train or at
stations will understand if you are disabled and
haven’t been able to use the ticket machine or access
the ticket office and will sell you a ticket on the train.
When you buy a ticket, you are allowed to travel
between the stations on that journey.
The rules are on www.nationalrail.co.uk
12
Cheaper tickets
If you buy a ticket in advance of travel it is often cheaper.
You can get a cheaper ticket if you have one of the following railcards:• Senior.
• Family and Friends.
• Network.
• Disabled Persons (DPRC).
• 16-25.
Disabled Persons Railcard
You can apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard
that gives you and an adult friend travelling
with you money off most rail fares in Great Britain.
‘Rail Travel Made Easy’ leaflets are at
most stations.
There is an application form in the back of
the leaflet or you can call 0845 605 0525
or textphone 0845 601 0132
or email [email protected] for help.
13
Other discounts for wheelchair users or visually
impaired passengers
You can get a cheaper fare for you and an adult who
is helping with your journey if you:
• Remain in your wheelchair for your journey.
• Have a visual impairment (problems with sight)
and are travelling with a friend.
You must show documents to prove that you have
a visual impairment when you buy your tickets e.g.
Social Services, Local Authority, RNIB or St. Dunstan’s.
Travel in London
To save money in the London area, you can use an
electronic plastic card called an Oyster Card to pay
for travel and to use the trains. This is only available
around London.
You must touch the yellow card reader at the start
and end of your journey.
14
Luggage
You must tell us that you have luggage when you phone
to book help.
Staff will help you with light luggage.
They cannot help with heavy bags.
Staff cannot carry luggage out of the station.
There are rules about the size and type of luggage you
can take on the train.
Check before you travel if you are worried about
your luggage.
Waiting areas
All stations have seats under cover on the platforms
or a waiting room.
Most waiting areas have no steps to the platform.
15
Parking at the station
Many stations have car parks.
Most car parks have blue badge parking.
Blue badge holders are not charged for parking in station car parks.
Make sure the badge can be seen and remember to set the time correctly.
16
Help points
Many stations have Help Points.
You can use the Help Points to speak to somebody for
information and help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
They have a hearing loop that helps people to hear staff.
You can use the Help Points in an emergency – staff will
contact the emergency services for you.
CCTV (camera) is linked to the Help Points.
Some stations have a yellow information point but this
will only give a recorded message about train times, you
cannot talk to somebody.
17
Signs and information
All stations have accessible information screens and signs.
Different colours are used to make it clearer.
Most stations announce the information regularly.
What happens if the train doesn’t have a conductor?
In the London area some trains only have a driver and not a conductor.
The driver will make announcements to help passengers. Tell the staff on the
platform if you have a problem.
18
Getting food at the station
and on the train
Most stations have drinks and snacks you can buy.
Some trains have a food and drinks trolley that travels
through the train.
You need to check if your train has one, before you travel.
19
Is there anything you want
to say about your journey?
We want to make journeys better for
people with disabilities.
If you have anything you want to say
please complete the feedback form at
the station, tell station staff or phone
Customer Services.
Do you have an idea to make
travel better? Please let Customer
Services know.
20
Accessibility Manager
Southern Railway has a full time accessibility manager who
can by contacted by emailing [email protected]
or phoning Customer Services (see first page for
contact details)
Southern Railway
We run trains in South London, between London and the South Coast,
through East and West Sussex and parts of Kent. We also run the Gatwick
Express service travelling between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria
throughout the day.
We have:
• Over 4000 employees.
• Over 300 new and updated trains.
• Over 2000 train services per day.
• Over 185,000 passengers every day.
• Over 10,000 passengers who book help with their journey each year.
• 157 stations of which 113 have been assessed and received an award for
being safe.
We are part of the Govia group and other rail companies in the same group are
Southeastern and London Midland.
With special thanks to passengers Chris Button and Nicola Smith,
Penny O’Callaghan of West Sussex County Council, Kate Lee of
The Big Bridge and the Self Advocacy groups in West Sussex for
their time and valuable input to help develop this leaflet.
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